A list of questions...

[butter]

As some of you may or may not know, I am building portions of NW Ohio in a large portal dominated route. Keeping out of specifics, it is quite large and, quite a pain at times. All in all I've come up with a list of questions, and issues, I would greatly appreciate community help with.. here goes, and any help is greatly appreciated.

1. Advance Warning posts in CSX use.
My question with these is exactly how to use them.. Under current CSXT rules it is 2 miles prior to a speed down grade or upgrading?

2. Portals.
I seem to have many many problems with them. I am just using the basic portals, and they refuse to work. In a new route, single base board, they produce trains, but in my current route, they refuse. I'm at a loss.

3. Defect Detectors.
I'm curious as to where to place them. I have the locations of a few of them, along the route, but what is the NS corp and CSXT protocol for placing them, and is there somewhere I can get a map of thee placement, and Mile posts?

4. Jointed Rail Safetran Signals.
I understand they are quite track plan dependent but I've got a few issues I hope can be solved with out a picture.
Randomly throughout the route there will be clear clear approach and then a "Line Terminates or is closed" when it certainly does not. The next signal will usually display "Clear".
I also had a problem where a user run train was approaching a aligned cross over, with a approach. on the same track a AI controlled train was behind a Red train approaching. Once the User controlled train passed the Approach showing signal, the AI crossed the red and realigned the crossover Turnout and created a head on collision.

5. NS & CSX Subdivision names
I have been having trouble figuring out exactly the names of the Norfolk Southern subdivisions of Northwest Ohio along with the names of the CSX ones.

6. Indiana and Ohio Railway.
This line crosses through my route, and I'm curious if there are any locomotives in trainz of this company. They also lease a few old Southern Pacific engines, and I'm curious if anyone would be willing to help find a southern pacific locomotive, rust it up and re-skin on a patch over the number board, like real one. If you're interested, send me a message and your help with be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

 

[fran1]

Portal basic kuid 30501:22006, need setting up in the route layer. Working ok here so it must be something your not doing.
Or try portal basic hp, kuid 2:46162:90001:1.

 

[butter]

I switched to Portal basic, a few days ago. What exactly needs to be done to make it work, I have it set up to put out a train, but nothing. they are in the route layer. I just tried resetting up one, and nothing.

 

[fran1]

There's an interval (for eg 45 mins) between emitting so the first train would be at 45 mins into the session.. To trial a portal set the interval to 5 minutes.
Give it a driver plus instructions.

 

[butter]

Correct, I switched over to HP and it started throwing them out. Im confused why the normal portals didnt work, but ill get over it. Thank you!

 

[fran1]

Correct, I switched over to HP and it started throwing them out. Im confused why the normal portals didnt work, but ill get over it. Thank you!

You did set it to produce and not just consume.

 

[butter]

Yes. I've used those portals before.

 

[rgcx]

Defect Detectors

It may vary from rr to rr, but the industry norm is every 20 to 30 miles. Sometimes, less distance if a "rash" of derailments are occuring in a particular spot. Also, they are located approaching set-out tracks when possible so offending cars can be easily set-out for repairs. Another thing to keep in mind; don't put a high-wide detector one car length prior to a height restricted bridge or tunnel. That defeats the idea behind of having such detectors. :hehe:

 

[Dermmy]

Jointed Rail Safetran Signals.
...Randomly throughout the route there will be clear clear approach and then a "Line Terminates or is closed" when it certainly does not. The next signal will usually display "Clear"...

Check for dead ends with no End-Of-Track Marker. Check for double ended sidings where one AI train has control of the junction at one end and a second AI train controls the far junction. If you have set up the sigs to define the 'straight' route, double check your 'L's and 'R's...

Andy

 

[butter]

Ill be honest, i dont really understand the L R and F The way i have been using them, the Cross overs, the farthest left track is labeled as left and the right signal is R... But I dont understand it, even after reading around on JR's site.

 

[Dermmy]

The 'L' and 'R' relates to the Left or Right setting of each lever the train will pass over through an interlocking. The trick is that the 'L' and 'R' are defined by the view from the lever end of the junction not the direction of travel...

 

[butter]

Im still not exactly sure what you mean. I'm sorry. It is just a bit difficult for me to grasp.

 

[RRSignal]

Defect Detectors

It may vary from rr to rr, but the industry norm is every 20 to 30 miles. Sometimes, less distance if a "rash" of derailments are occuring in a particular spot. Also, they are located approaching set-out tracks when possible so offending cars can be easily set-out for repairs. Another thing to keep in mind; don't put a high-wide detector one car length prior to a height restricted bridge or tunnel. That defeats the idea behind of having such detectors. :hehe:

In and around Philadelphia I think it's even less, about every 10 miles. I think running speed (and possibly population density i.e. risk to the public) is a factor.

High-and-wide detectors could go anywhere though. NS sure needed one here :

http://roxborough.patch.com/articles/freight-train-hits-canal-bridge-closing-towpath#photo-9368411

 

[Dermmy]

Im still not exactly sure what you mean. I'm sorry. It is just a bit difficult for me to grasp.

OK - a picture is worth a thousand words so:

Now normally the 'straight' route would be through the right hand junction, but let's imagine that it's a station approach or an industrial area and that the preferred route for traffic is across the diagonal. The junctions are L + L despite the fact that the far junction might look to be approached from the 'right'. The 'L' is defined as the lever setting viewed from the lever end of the junction. The 'F' setting will hardly ever be required, is used for the center road of a three-way lever.

 

[butter]

In reply to dermmy the correct path for a train to go straight through would be to set it to Right?

 

[Dermmy]

There's no 'correct' path, that's the whole point of the programmable signals. And don't think in terms of 'straight', think in terms of 'preferred' or 'normal' route. What you are trying to do is get the signal to show the highest aspect possible on the path YOU are defining as 'preferred'.

As I said in my post, the 'normal' arrangement in that screenshot would be 'straight' through, but imagine that the view is out of a passing siding with the 'straight' route through Lever 0 being into a dead-end of some sort and 99% of traffic going left through Junction 0, then through Junction2 and away. L + L would give the highest possible aspect. The point of my post was that it is a common error when approaching a trailing junction to programme the sig to L + R, which gives an impossible lever arrangement and can sometimes lead to the sort of strange message like "Line Terminates or closed" which was the point of the OP. In fact if the signal in the screenshot was programmed as L + R then the line IS terminated or closed, and the next sig would show 'Clear' which is exactly the situation you are descibing...

Andy

 

[butter]

So I think I've got what you mean down. It is from the perspective of the Signal correct? And what would be a useable End of track indicator? I run a lot of CSX mainline... what was used on EK3?

 

[fran1]

I think dermmy meant a buffer or even an invisible signal, to be used at the end of track in a siding.

 

[Dermmy]

So I think I've got what you mean down. It is from the perspective of the Signal correct? And what would be a useable End of track indicator? I run a lot of CSX mainline... what was used on EK3?

No - you don't look at the levers from the signal end. Irrespective of the direction of travel the lever direction (L or R) is always defined as viewed from the lever end of each junction. So in my screenshot the closest lever is looked at from where the camera is, but the second lever is looked at from the opposite end.

E-O-T markers are as Fran said - usually a bumper of some sort or there are invisible ones or some that are made as signs. You MUST use an E-O-T marker on all dead ends. The trainz signalling logic sees EOTs as permanent red signals and without them you will always get the 'Line Terminates or Closed' or 'Track ahead unsignaled' message.

 

[butter]

In a mix up, I think that is actully what I did. I cannot find any mess ups in my R's and L's.. Not in your setting up, do you go to the next signal block, for like a straight track double mainline, or just through the crossover?